An honor much deserved

Vanessa Marcano-Kelly, former CCI all-star Latino organizer, was awarded the  Iowa Latino Leadership Award!

 This award is an honor from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and was given to Vanessa on November 1 in front of a packed house! We miss her dearly, from her perseverance, smarts, to her constant kindness, and she's already making waves in her next adventure! LULAC could not have picked anyone better.

We wanted to spread her inspiring words - enjoy!

Good evening. Buenas noches! I am truly honored to receive this award tonight, and very grateful to LULAC for having chosen me as the recipient of this award in 2014. I would like to dedicate this to my family, especially my mom Mirna, who is in Venezuela, where I was born and raised. And to my husband, Michael, who has been my compañero and support during my time as a community organizer. I am extremely thankful to my hermana en la lucha (sister in the struggle), co-organizer Ani Mancebo, and to the members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI), the organization that gave me the tools and support to organize and win important victories in our communities.

Powerful victories for Latinos and other workers of color, such as getting a company like Hubbell Homes to adopt an anti-wage theft clause in their contracts; or recovering over $175,000 in wages stolen from workers; or empowering Latino workers to speak at the Statehouse to push laws that crack down on wage theft, raise the minimum wage, and give drivers’ licenses to immigrants. Or more recently, and with the support of great allies like LULAC, the adoption by the Des Moines City Council of a responsible bidder questionnaire to ensure workers and taxpayers are protected from unscrupulous companies bidding on public projects.

Our work, alongside important allies like LULAC, has positioned CCI as one of the leading organizations standing up for the dignity of workers. I am very proud of this work, and of the lucha, the spirit of struggle so characteristic of our Latino community. I thank all of you for this honor, and for fighting for social justice alongside our people. The struggle lives on! La lucha sigue! Thank you all for this great honor – Muchas gracias.

Thanks for all of your hard work Vanessa - onward! 

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